


Diamond in the Rough

by Weevilo707



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst, M/M, Unhealthy Relationships, p much those ten years of taako's life set to Marina and the Diamonds, pre-here there be gerblins, the rise and fall of Sizzle It Up With Taako
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-16
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-30 10:02:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12106296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weevilo707/pseuds/Weevilo707
Summary: Taako didn't know much. He didn't know where he got the Sizzle It Up With Taako food cart, or where he was or how he got there. He didn't know why he didn't know those things, but he didn't care about that.What he did know was that he was a great chef, a star, a real fucking diamond in the rough. His past sucked but this was a new lease on life and a new him.He was going to make something of himself and damn it, everyone was going tolove him.





	Diamond in the Rough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I live my life inside a dream  
>  Only waking when I sleep  
> I would sell my sorry soul, if I could have it all_
> 
> _My life is a play, is a play, is a play  
>  My life is a play, is a play, is a play  
> Yeah, I’ve been living in a state of dreaming  
> Living in a make-believe land  
> Living in a state of dreaming, of dreaming, of dreaming [(X)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilxc3mGKC-w)_

In his dreams there’s a human man in brilliant red, with kind eyes and a broken, relieved smile. If he doesn’t let himself think too hard on it, the word family comes to mind. It doesn’t make sense, but that doesn’t seem important. There’s a comfort and security that can’t be explained when he sees him, but those feelings are always quickly drowned out by horror and confusion. 

Because in those dreams, Taako is killing that man and there is so, _so much red._

He tries to figure out what’s going on, because something has to be going on. When he thinks on it though, he can never remember where he and the man are. The man falls at one point he’s sure, so they must be somewhere high? But he doesn’t know where. The surroundings blurred and strange, and the only thing he can focus on is himself and the man. 

He doesn’t know the man’s name. He can’t even remember his face, and that thought always makes Taako’s stomach twist for a reason he can’t explain. 

He doesn’t know why he killed him. He thinks he was told to, begged maybe. But he doesn't know why. 

It's a dream though. Only a dream, no matter what some part of his brain almost wants to scream otherwise. It doesn’t have to make sense. 

Lately though everything has kind of felt like a dream. 

Taako wishes he meant that in the way it sounded. Like his life was fucking sweet, too good to be true but it actually was. Everything chill as all hell in Taako Town, it’s like a _dream._

But nah, that wasn’t what he meant. Everything just felt fuzzy. Super hazy, his thoughts couldn’t stick on any one thing for long and he couldn’t remember if it had always been that way. It probably had been. Everything had always been… been… something. His life had been something. As far as he could remember, something had always been wrong. He'd always been alone, always confused. 

Whatever it had been though, that was the past and he didn’t want to think about it. Thinking about it made the fuzz worse. He knew for certain that his life had been pretty shitty up to this point, from the parts he could remember. There wasn’t much point in thinking about that either. 

Thinking about the now didn’t help much either, because he didn’t- he didn’t know where he was. Or how he got there. Or fucking _anything._

_You’re Taako. From TV! And you are so, so loved._

Well, he knew that. 

He wasn’t sure where he’d heard it from though, but he liked it. He was Taako, from TV. The thought felt grounding. If he focused on that he could ignore the static, could pretend he knew what was going on. 

He was so, so loved. 

He laughed to himself at that thought, a kind of cruel, disbelieving laugh. He was loved, huh? He tried to think of who could possibly love him. There weren't any friends, there were few people he could even remember the name of. He had family at one point he was sure. Distant relatives who shuffled him around and who’s faces blurred together even without the static numbing. 

An aunt who stuck out, Taako could remember cooking with her. The memories were hazy but there, and he could remember laughing and having fun. He could remember feeling loved there. 

That had been so long ago though. He wouldn’t call one instance of happiness ‘so, so loved.’ 

So, it had to be something else. 

His mind turned to the man in his dreams, the one with the pained smile who felt like family and was so, so red. The man who Taako killed without question every night. 

Damn it, where _was_ he? 

Any thought of figuring out what the whole 'loved' thing was tossed aside for trying to figure that out instead. He was on the side of a road, first off. Good job Taako, one mystery solved. 

He was next to a large, fancy cart. The side of it had ‘Sizzle it up with Taako’ written in fun, curving letters and Taako couldn’t help but smile at the sight. He liked it, it was exactly his style. Bright and garish and in your face. He couldn’t remember doing that, or getting the cart, or anything like that, but there was no way it wasn’t his. 

Going inside, the whole thing was set up for cooking. There was a spot he could pull down the side of the cart and create a mini-stage so people could see what he was doing. Looking in the cabinets, the whole thing was fully stocked. His mind was reeling with all of the different things he could make with these ingredients. Taako couldn’t stop the smile on his face from getting wider the more he looked. 

It was _perfect._

And he had no fucking idea where he got it. 

That knocked the smile off of his face. It just didn’t make sense. He had to know something, at least. Where did he get the groceries? _When_ did he get them? They were all so fresh. He couldn’t remember stopping at a town though. Was there even a town nearby? 

Looking around a bit more, he found a map. It was large and fully labeled and clear, like someone had put in hard work making it as readable as possible. There was even a little mark noting his current location. Not too far from a town, although one he’d never heard of. 

Reading the other ones, he didn’t know any of those either. 

Gods, he didn’t remember paying attention in school much, in fact he could barely remember going to school at all, but he was surprised by just how much of a fucking idiot he was. 

Taking a deep breath, Taako pushed that thought and the map aside. It was a straight shoot to the town, he didn’t need it. He didn’t want to keep thinking about the past or how dumb he was or how he didn't know where anything was or how he got this cart. None of those things _mattered._

What mattered was that he had an opportunity. He had this sick ass cart and all these supplies and even if he was an idiot he must’ve managed something good to get it all. This was his chance. He could take this cart to that town and show people his stuff and then he wouldn’t be stuck out on the streets alone anymore and everyone was going to _love him._

Heading towards the back of the cart to get out and get this show on the road, there was a small section in the back set up for him to stay in. A comfy looking bed roll and a small dresser full of clothes and a mirror hung up on the door that led out. Stopping in front of it, Taako examined his current state. 

His clothes were bright and flashy, better than anything he could ever remember wearing. Definitely something he could stand in front of a crowd in. There was an apron hanging next to the mirror with the same ‘Sizzle it up with Taako’ logo printed on it as was on the side of the cart. Grabbing it, he quickly tied it around himself, smiling brightly at his reflection. 

It looked perfect. He was fucking perfect and if no one ever loved him before that was their own loss. He was so, _so_ loved, even if he was the only one doing the loving. 

Heading out, he started the cart in the direction of the nearest town. Things weren’t as fuzzy when he thought about the future. He could think about that and about food without feeling like a complete idiot, so that’s what he was going to do. Fuck the past, this was a new lease on life and a new Taako. 

Taako from TV. 

Taako who was _loved._

That night he dreams about killing a man in brilliant red who feels like family and who makes Taako feel loved, and then he never dreams of him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo I might've started a thing. pretty much i was listening to marina and the diamonds and thinking 'damn, i could really make a taako playlist using like only her songs. i could make a _fic_ using only her songs' and then that idea spread and so now we got this thing. 
> 
> I'm not too sure yet how in depth i'm gonna get on the whole taako/sazed relationship thing, but it's definitely going to be a major part, since ya know, it's a major part of his life at the time. Hopefully shouldn't require raising the rating or adding any additional tags though, but feel free to let me know if at any point you think I should. 
> 
> Also, I couldn't resist putting in more taako and barry are best bros and family and love each other, because lucretia never knew how barry disappeared and therefor didn't know to erase taako killing him from his memory
> 
> As always, thanks for reading and i hope you enjoyed


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